How time flies..................

.................... when you're busy

What a long time since I posted - I can't believe it's two and a half weeks without the excuse of a 'going away' type holiday.

Never mind - let's make up for lost time then.

The big girl has had a birthday - she's now 17 and legally old enough to drive.

That should keep you off the Somerset roads for a start.

She had a small bunch of friends sleeping here for her birthday weekend - lots of caterpillars sleeping in the conservatory

- followed by some canoeing

- Where's that beach? - again - the college friend at the front plays football not rugby and hasn't grasped the concept quite yet.

In and amongst this I've broken up from school for the summer break - hurray!

Louise has been growing pumpkins - with great success, I guess plenty of rain and reasonably mild temperatures have been helping everything to grow.

Himself has been very busy indeed, in and amongst the rain, laying more of my beautiful patchwork patio

He's onto the bottom level after completing all the brick edging around the top one - he got this whole bottom layer put down this last weekend - so progress is speeding along.

The strange gaps in the front of the step are the housing for soft inbuilt lights that we'll be able to switch on as and when we need them as I just know if either my father or his mother (both of whom can trip over a single hair in the most spectacular fashion) are here in the twilight they're bound to miss the step and break something vital like a hip or whatever.

The canoe storage area will eventually be hidden by a very smart fence/gate arrangement to allow ease of access combined with camouflage - I'm also toying with repainting the shed in a lighter colour - but still trying to get that one past the Management Committee!

He's now working out the logistics of cutting the paving slabs to accommodate those less than attractive but unfortunately necessary drain/rodding access covers - Good Luck with that one then dear!

We've had a bit of a run of luck finding some new planters in the sales at ridiculously low prices

Some tall (and not so tall) square ones (with a round friend) at a fifth of their original price

And some nice blue ones at just under half price - I do love a bargain! - once the paving is finished I shall place them strategically round the garden filled with all sorts of things to add colour and interest

We also spent Saturday morning, in the rain (again), having a good shuffle round of plants in the borders - the smaller ones from the back were moved to the front (the border was much shallower before we decided on the paving dimensions) and some other plants added to help fill it all up

Recently we visited some friends of ours in Surrey who have this beautiful cottage garden bursting with flowers and great things to eat

Their overflowing borders and beds are the sort of look I'm aiming for around the edge of the paving - eventually!

You'll also, no doubt, be pleased to note that the earlier argument with the gas main has had no long term ill effects on the plants in the front garden.

Here's a shy little clematis hiding behind its big bully neighbouring buddleia happily flowering despite only being planted a few weeks ago.

Finally although I've been lurking rather than posting around blogland I've not been idle

The plaid top only needs the final row down the right hand side (blocks already completed and awaiting assembly) - and then it's decision time for the borders

Never happy with one project on the go I was tempted to start the next

Remember - I did say I hadn't got the Jewel Box pattern out of my system

Here we are, six blocks assembled and stitched together

I have five more almost done - I decided to scale the blocks down slightly on this one - they're 3" HSTs rather than the 4" ones from the previous scrappy version

I wasn't sure about the colour of the mushroom batik that I'm using for the background - it seemed a little dead when I first cut into it - but as the quilt grows the combination of the lifeless background and the bright batiks works ok - it's growing on me the more I put together

We have a trip to Sark in the Channel Islands planned quite soon - it is a magical place of such peace and tranquility that it always puts me in mind of what 'Heaven with the door closed' must sound like.

I'd rather like to get the borders on my Batik Baskets so I can hand applique a good amount of the vines around the outer border while we're there - that may well be today's job.

Overall a busy couple of weeks - and it's so nice both to be back here with you, and also to welcome Mrs M from The Magpie Files fame back into Blogland with her new blog .....the sight of morning...

If you're not familiar with her old blog check her out she usually brings a smile to my face each morning and always makes me think.

Right - must dash - I'm away to stitch again.....................